


Lilacs

by ImaginationReaper98



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Highgarden, Rare Pair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 12:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10944723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationReaper98/pseuds/ImaginationReaper98
Summary: The queen will be arriving today though he can't get himself to feel anything other than indifference.





	Lilacs

He pushes himself to stand and struggles a bit more than usual. He had fallen asleep on his chair again, causing his bad leg to feel sore. The book he had been reading slipped from his hand when he dozed off and is now lying miserably on the floor. He considers finishing it, but then he realizes that current circumstances won't allow such an idulgence. A book can wait, matters regarding the queen cannot.

The sky is dimly lit by the half-risen sun and Willas inhales the sweet scent of the spring morning. Highgarden is serenely quiet during the early hours of the day and Willas intends to relish it while it lasts. Later, the castle will be in a bustling chaos. Margaery will of course be leading all of it as lady of Highgarden with the grace and sharpness that is her wont.

When spring finally arrived, Willas witnessed the positive change in his sister. She bloomed as the rose bushes in their gardens came back to life from being mere twigs in the winter. She has always been one of the strongest person he knows, but even the liveliest of roses cannot endure the harsh winter without wilting nor the pain of grief.  _She is now back to her old self_ , people say with grateful sighs. Willas noticed it too, as well as the sadness in her eyes that she tries to hide with a smile. He knows her too well to be fooled.

Margaery is the only family he has left. Her welfare and happiness is of great importance to him, which is why he accepted the Queen's request to visit Highgarden for Margaery delights in keeping herself busy. That and he couldn't really refuse a request from Queen Daenerys without some undesirable ramifications.

The queen will be arriving today though he can't get himself to feel anything other than indifference. He is alone with this sentiment since everyone else is either excited or nervous. The anxiety is only the result of listening to too many tell tales about the queen, stories that probably have no ounce of truth in them anyway. Excitement is slightly more reasonable, Willas thinks. Daenerys Targaryen saved the entire realm from the unspeakable horrors that loomed in the North and has wisely ruled over Westeros with peace which contradicts each preconceived judgments over the exiled Targaryen, the daughter of the Mad King. 

Time flies by as swiftly as the servants go from one task to the other with their final attempts at preparations. While on his way to meet their royal guests, Willas purposefully changes his route to pass by Margaery's quarters so that they can make their way down together. 

Margaery is waiting in front of her door, wearing a forest green dress embroidered with golden vines and tiny golden roses. She smiles at Willas warmly and entwines her arm to his as they walk in silence 

At length, she finally speaks, "Are you not worried, brother? About the Queen coming here?"

He says, "No, I'm not. Are you?"

"Not exactly, though I suppose that I'm not certain how she would treat me. I did wear the crown that was supposed to be rightfully hers." she says with a smirk.

"This is the same Queen that made Tyrion Lannister her Hand despite everyone assuming she'd slay him for the sins of his House."

She nods thoughtfully. "That is true. One thing is for sure: a Queen with three dragons is surely not a bore."

 

* * *

 

The great black dragon lands on the ground, the Queen mounting its back. Awed as he is, he can't help but remember the days he spent with his brothers as young boys playing in the courtyard. Someone was pretending to be a dragon, Garlan perhaps, while Loras and I, armed with wooden swords, lunged at him like true valiant knights. Father roared with fond laughter and Mother smiled. It was a whisper of a memory, blurry around the ages.

Margaery nudges Willas with her elbow which made him sway a little and grip his crane harder. The Queen, who has slid down from atop her dragon, trudges up towards them. He bows in front of her and the rest follow suit, though he was the only one unable to go down on one knee.

"Welcome, Your Grace. It is a great honor to have you here. Highgarden is yours." he says to her.

"Thank you, Lord Tyrell. I look forward to my stay here. It seems I've come here in the right time, the place is blooming." she says, purple eyes scanning the beauty around her. 

The rest of her host come pouring at the widely opened gates and Willas notes how they're rather small in number for a royal party.

The Imp is smiling broadly, unabashed with his scarred face and half a nose. His greetings carry more parts levity than formality. A tall silver-haired man in fine velvet clothing who can only be the Prince is not far behind the Lord Hand. On the breast of his tunic, the three-headed dragon of his house was embroidered in blood red thread. His lovely wife is beside him, and though he is the crown prince Lady Sansa stands tall like his equal. Willas can't help but let his eyes linger on her a moment longer. She is indeed as lovely as Margaery had promised in one of her letters from long ago. Her hair falls down her back, red as burnished bronze, and she moves with effortless grace.

As soon as the introductions were made and formalities are out of the way, they all make their way inside the castle. From the corner of his eye, Willas sees Margaery with Sansa and the Queen heading towards one of the gardens his sister is particularly proud of. He finds himself in the company of Tyrion Lannister and Prince Aegon and he tries to interact with them, adding to the conversation whenever he can. Although deep down Willas would much rather inside his room finishing the book he was reading last night.

 

* * *

 

Margaery enters the library, her eyes finding him instantly the moment she set foot inside. "I knew you were hiding here." she says, taking the chair right across Willas.

"I'm not hiding."

"Oh, but you are." She grins. "I can't believe how well this day turned out."

"Much to your credit, dear sister."

Margaery frowns teasingly. "And yours. Stop being too modest, will you?"

"Shouldn't you be out there with Queen Daenerys and Lady Sansa? They must be wondering where you are by now."

"The Queen has rested to her quarters and Sansa has disappeared with her husband."

He frowns and turns his attention back to his book. Willas can feel Margaery's eyes boring into his head.

"I know what you're thinking." Margaery did inherit their dear grandmother's perceptive eyes. "And yes, I do think the Lady Sansa is as fair as you once tried to convince me. You can shame me now."

"I don't find fault in that, Willas. It's quite alright to be wistful about something that could have been, well, yours."

He sighs. "Well, I think it's foolish and I've gotten over it. It is nothing but a petty thought."

She walks over to him and places a kiss on his cheek. "Promise me you won't spend the entire night in here."

"I'll try my best."

 

* * *

 

Willas likes to be alone while taking a stroll around one of the castle's gardens, to have himself surrounded by spring flowers in bloom and the well-trimmed bushes and the immaculate sunlight giving life to it all. The flowers all look so alive and vibrant, tended with care and blooming with life; it fills him with an odd sort of comfort to know that such things could be so beautiful.

He hears a faint sound whispering and stops in his tracks. It grows louder and clearer, a voice of a man and a woman. The woman laughs and he thinks he knows whose voice it belongs to. Willas starts to walk away before they see him.

When he's far enough, he glances back despite himself. He regrets it instantly when he sees Lady Sansa reaching up to kiss her husband, her hands around his neck. They were an image of perfection, like flowers still in bloom despite the ruthless winter that is their lives. He wishes he found the same kind of enduring joy in his life, but it's a waste of time to hope for such things.

 

* * *

 

Margaery has taken their guests on a tour, to which Willas declined to join for obvious reasons. He hates it when his physical ineptitude causes delays. They left at dawn and the castle is the most quiet it has been since the queen arrived.

He was then left to accompany Lady Sansa, who opted to stay after feeling a bit under the weather earlier. He invited her for tea inside the library, not because he favored not having to leave his usual spot but because of the view and the abundant sunshine passing through the wide arched windows.

"I must say, I never thought I'd ever meet you, Lord Tyrell." she says to him.

This takes him by surprise, and he really is unable to form a response. So he simply nods. Luckily, that seems to be enough for her to go on 

"I am glad that I did."

Willas finally finds his voice. "Likewise, my lady."

She smiles and for a moment they say nothing, until she glances at one of the windows. "I find it odd that Highgarden is everything I imagined it would be, but also different at the same time." 

"Perhaps the real thing is incomparable to the mere myth of its beauty. Hence, the difference." he says. "Now it's no longer the mere fantasy or idea of the place, and it could either be a disappointment or a delightful surprise."

Sansa looks at him. "I'll have you know that it's the latter, you know."

"Well, I am honored."

 

* * *

 

Willas rarely sees the Queen around for she spends most of her time soaring the skies on her dragon. Willas can only imagine what it feels like to fly, to reach heights no other human could ever reach. When she's not roaming the heavens, she's with Margaery or Lady Sansa, but now she is right beside him as they take a stroll together gardens.

"It's probably clear to you now that we came here for a vacation rather than for some important matter." says the queen. Her tone was serious but their was an amiable smile on her face.

"I might've figured it out on the first day, Your Grace."

She arches her brow. "You weren't perturbed?"

"Far from it, Your Grace." he replies. "You all deserve a vacation and I take pride in the fact that you even considered Highgarden."

"Well, House Tyrell has been a valuable ally and I ought to have visited sooner."

Under the sunlight, her pale hair gleams the more bright, almost as if it radiates its own light. And her smiling eyes, they're lovely as blooming lilacs and he finds it difficult to look away. 

"I'm now just realizing that I've had too much thrill in my life, you know." she says to him and shakes her head. "Highgarden is to blame for planting such thoughts into my head. The gentle grandiosity...the consistent beauty, it's quite soothing."

Willas grins. "Is that one of the reasons that spurred you to visit Highgarden? A desire for some peace and quiet?"

"Not quite, as a matter of fact I had no idea I wanted this much tranquility until I came here." she admits. 

Her smile is warm, making her eyes glitter like amethysts.

Willas wonders how on earth did he not notice how impossibly beautiful her eyes look when crinkled by a smile, or how fine her company is, or how she is exactly what he expected her to be but different at the same time. 


End file.
